


Always Be There

by beanfic



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Bisexual Josh Dun, Character Death, Coming Out, M/M, Music, Sad Tyler Joseph
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-25
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-12-07 07:00:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18231491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beanfic/pseuds/beanfic
Summary: You were best friends with Tyler Joseph, and you could tell something was going on when he first met Josh Dun, but you couldn't get him to tell you exactly what was happening. All you knew is that Josh had promised Tyler that he would always be there for him, but sometimes promises get broken.





	Always Be There

**Wednesday, March 10th**

You noticed that Tyler, your best friend, was staring out his bedroom window, so you walked over to see what he was so distracted by. You followed his gaze down to a boy walking his golden retriever. 

“Why are you staring at Josh?” you asked Tyler, disrupting his gaze by waving your hand in front of his face. His eyes shoot from Josh to you and then back down to Josh. His brown curly hair bounced while he walked his dog.

“I’ve heard he plays drums,” Tyler whispered. Tyler has been making music in his basement for the past year, and it was pretty good for someone who was in still in high school. 

“I’ve heard that too, would you want to ask him to play drums for your songs?”

“I was thinking more of a bandmate,” Tyler looked over to you with his eyes full of mystery. 

“A band? Like for real?” You were excited, you’ve been trying to push Tyler to finally start a band and get his music out there. 

“Yeah, but I don’t have any classes with him so I don’t know how I would be able to talk to him,” Tyler scratched his short brown hair as he started to pace across his room. 

“I have government with him, maybe I could talk to him?” you suggested. Tyler lifted his eyebrow as if he was asking if you would really do that for him. 

“Thanks, Y/N.” He reached over and grabbed your hand. You smiled at him while your heart began to flutter. Not only were you best friends with Tyler, but you also happened to have the biggest, fattest crush on him. He friend zoned you a while ago, but, that doesn’t make feelings go away. 

 

**Thursday, March 11th**

 

“You’re Josh, right?” you asked the boy who sat in the back corner of the classroom. He looked up at you with a confused look, but then you realized he had earbuds in. You pointed to your ear to try to get him to take him out. 

“Can I help you?” he asked as he slowly pulled off his earbuds. He was wearing a black hoodie and black skinny jeans. Maybe black was his favorite color. 

“You play the drums, right?” 

“Yeah, why?” 

You rubbed your temple as you wished you had thought out of a script before talking to this stranger. 

“So, I, uh, have this friend? He writes music, really good music, and he is looking for a bandmate.” You immediately regretted how stupid you sounded. 

“Does your friend have a name?” he kind of chuckled under his breath. 

“Yeah, right. His name is Tyler Joseph. He is a junior just like us.”

“I might be interested, do you have his number you could give me or something?”

“Oh, yeah,” you pulled out your phone to look up his number. “Here you go.”

“Thanks,” Josh said quietly as he scribbled the number down in his notebook. 

“Yep!” You started to walk back to your seat but Josh grabbed your arm before you could. 

“Are you and him dating or something?”

“Me and Tyler? No, we’re just best friends.” You could feel your cheeks blush. 

“Could I get your number, too?” Josh asked. 

“What, mine? Oh, sure, yeah.” You reached over his desk and scribbled down your number in his notebook right next to Tyler’s.

 

**Friday, March 12th**

 

“He asked for your number too?” Tyler questioned when you explained the whole situation to him. You both were taking your dog, a springer spaniel, for a walk around your neighborhood. 

“Yeah, he asked if we were dating and I said no and then he asked for my number.”

“Oh,” Tyler mumbled. 

“Don’t act so sad,” you chuckled. You didn’t understand why Tyler was acting so strange, but maybe it was because he was jealous of Josh? Maybe Tyler did have feelings for you, and he just didn’t know it until you got another guy attention.

“He hasn’t texted me yet.”

“It’s okay Ty, I’m sure he will.” 

 

**Saturday, March 13th**

 

Tyler:  _ He texted me _

Y/N:  _ Yeah? What did he say? _

Tyler: _ I’ll explain in person, come over? _

Y/N:  _ Be right over. _

 

You sent the last text message and threw on your tennis shoes before heading to Tyler’s house, which was only a couple doors down. You walked up to the front door and walked in. 

“Hi Kelly!” you waved to Tyler’s mom who was in the kitchen cooking dinner. 

“Hi Y/N! Tyler’s up in his room.” You gave her a nod and a smile before climbing the flight of stairs that lead to his bedroom. 

“I’m here!” you burst into Tyler’s room. He was leaned over his keyboard with headphones on, and your sudden burst made him jump. 

“Jesus, Y/N, you scared me.”

“Don’t use the Lord's name in vain in a good Christian household,” you joked with him. He rolled his eyes. “So what did Josh say?”

Tyler pulled out his phone, “He first texted me a ‘hey this is Josh Dun.’ and I responded with a ‘hey! This is Tyler Joseph’ and then he said ‘i know’ which made me realize how stupid my first text message was”

“That’s okay, Ty, continue on!”

“Okay! So, then I texted him ‘would you want to play drums for some of my songs’ and he responded right away with a ‘yes. Let’s start a band’”

“That’s good! Kind of forward, but still good! You’ve been wanting to start a band for the longest time Ty!”

“I know! So Josh is going to come over tomorrow and I am going to teach him some of my songs and see if we click,” Tyler explained. 

“That’s great!” you flashed Tyler a smile and he nodded. 

 

**Sunday, March 14th**

Tyler’s POV

 

I paced around my bedroom anxiously awaiting Josh. I couldn’t stop thinking about the boy with curly brown hair that walked his golden retriever almost every day. I had been infatuated with Josh ever since I first laid eyes on him. 

His smile made me feel a way that I shouldn’t, and I wanted to know everything about the mysterious curly brown hair boy. I wanted to know why his eyes were filled with sadness all the time. I wanted to know what music he listened to, and what his dog’s name was. I wanted to get to know Joshua Dun. 

The only thing that made this whole ordeal more difficult than it should be is the fact that I’m gay and that nobody knew that. Not even my best friend, who also happened to like me. I feel bad for her, but maybe one day I’ll be brave enough to tell her. 

I always wondered if Josh liked boys too, but him asking for my best friends number kind of answered that question for me, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t still be friends with him. Plus, the whole reason he was coming over was to make music. 

My doorbell rang so I headed down the stairs and opened it up. The curly brown haired boy stood there, smiling his perfect smile, making me feel the way I shouldn’t. 

“Hey! So nice to meet you.” I instantly regretted how stupid that line was. 

Josh chuckled, “Nice to meet you too! I think we had a class together last year?”

I thought back and then it dawned on me that he was in my health class last year. “Oh yeah! Health 2, right?”

Josh nodded. “Hated that class.”

“Me too. Here, I’ll show you downstairs! That’s where I record my music.” I started walking towards the basement door, slowly opening the door to reveal the long flight of stairs. 

“You have your own basement for recording?”

“Yep, perks of being the oldest I guess.” I walked down the stairs, flicking the light switch so the room lit up. On one side was a couch and two bass guitars and a ukulele hung on the wall. A keyboard was placed next to the couch as well as an electric drum kit. 

“Do you play all these instruments?” Josh asked, looking around in amazement. 

I nodded, “I mean I can’t really play drums but I make it work for the songs, so that’s where you’re going to come in!” I walked over to my desktop and clicked on a folder that was titled ‘No Phun Intended’.

“No Phun Intended?” Josh asked, raising his eyebrow.

“Don’t judge the name, I recorded all of these over the past year with the help of my brother. Do you want to take a listen?” I watched Josh nod and sit down on the couch, looking eager to hear my music. I was nervous, I hadn’t really shown anyone my music except for Y/N, and some of my family members. I clicked play on the first song titled ‘Blasphemy’. 

I studied Josh’s face while the song played. I could tell he was trying to keep a straight face, but I saw a smile peeking through. My heart began to flutter but I tried to shove those feelings down. 

“So, what did you think?” I asked him. 

“Man, you’re really talented. You did that all by yourself?”

I nodded. 

“What is it about?” he asked, standing up to walk over to where I was sitting in front of my desktop. 

“Oh, um, it’s just about some faith issues I’ve been experiencing lately.” 

“You religious?”

“My family is, but I’ve been doubting a lot lately.”

“I get that. I’ve never really been religious, it just seems to be filled with hate.”

 

**Monday, March 15th**

 

“So what else happened? How did the day end?” you asked Tyler who was fiddling with his Uke in his basement. You were supposed to be studying for the biology exam, but Tyler’s story had gotten you distracted. 

“Well he liked the song and I showed him others, and then I had him show me his drumming! I just let him drum along to some of the tracks,” he explained. 

“Is he good at drumming?”

Tyler coughed, “Oh yeah, he’s really good. His arms move so fast, and he’s really muscular.”

“Yeah? He’s really cute,” you giggled. 

“Do you have a crush on him or something?” Tyler teased.

“Maybe. Did he mention me at all?”

“No? Why would he?”

You pouted, “Because he asked for my number! He hasn’t even texted me either.”

Tyler shrugged, “I’m not sure.”

 

**Monday, March 22nd**

 

“How has the recording been going? I haven’t seen you all week!” you asked Tyler while you two were walking your dog again. 

“Really good. He’s come over every single day after school and we’ve got three songs almost completely done.”

“That’s great!” you smiled. “He’s not replacing me right?”

“Of course not, Y/N. You will always be my best friend.” 

Your heart dropped at the mention of ‘best friend’. “Right, best friends.” You looked down at the street, trying not to let Tyler know you were sad. 

 

**Friday, March 26th**

Tyler's POV

I studied Josh while he was figuring out the drum section for the new song we were working on. It was called Trees and I had written it a couple of years ago, but I always had this big idea for a drum section but you needed a talented drummer. Josh was exactly that. 

“That sounds really good!” I complimented him, and Josh looked up and gave me a smile. I continued to sit back on the couch, listening to him play. I’ve been spending more time with Josh than Y/N, and I knew Y/N was upset, or jealous, I couldn’t really tell. 

All this time being spent with Josh only fueled my growing feelings for the curly brown haired boy. I wanted to know if Josh felt the same way, but I was too afraid to bring it up. What if he didn’t like boys? 

“I think that’s it!” Josh set down his drumsticks and walked over to where I was sitting on the couch. He sat down right next to me, making his thigh brush against mine. There was a whole couch for him to sit down in, but of course, he decided to sit right next to me. 

“It sounded really good,” I smiled while I made contact with his big brown eyes. He looked into my eyes as well, holding me captive in his gaze. 

“I’m glad you like it.” His voice was barely more than a whisper, and I swear I could have seen his eyes gaze down to my lips. Should I kiss him? No. 

“Well, we can record it and then add it!” I leaned back a little, trying to create more space in between him and me. 

“Great! I know I say this a lot Tyler, but you really are so talented. Your lyrics hold so much meaning in them, and I bet they could really help people.”

My stomach fluttered and I smiled, “Thanks Josh, that means a lot.”

“I’m really glad that your friend gave me your number.”

“Yeah, me too. I’m really glad that we’re friends.” I wanted to reach over and grab his hand, but I decided against it. 

“Can I ask you something?” Josh suddenly got very serious, halting the fluttering in my stomach. 

“Sure.” I bit my lip with nervousness.

“What are your songs exactly about? Most of your songs are sad.”

“I guess they are, um, they’re about a lot of different things.” I tried to explain. 

“Are you sad Tyler?”

I was caught by surprise by his question. No one had ever asked me if I was sad before, not even Y/N. I was sad, I always felt this sadness looming over my head. Keeping such a big secret really does not help my mental health. 

“I guess I feel sad most of the time.” It felt weird for me to be so open with Josh, but I also felt so comfortable being able to talk to him. 

“Don’t be sad Tyler. I don’t like to see you sad. I like when you smile.”

“I’ve never had someone say that to me before.” 

“I know we haven’t known each other for a long time, but I really care about you. If you ever need anything, or just someone to talk to please come talk to me. I’ll always be here for you.” Josh placed his hand on my thigh and I looked up at his eyes. 

“Thank you, Josh. I’ll also be here for you too.” I watched Josh’s hand go from my thigh to my right hand that was resting on the couch. He intertwined his fingers with mine, and I let out a breath that I was holding. 

“Is this okay?” Josh whispered, looking at our hands. 

I nodded. 

 

**Tuesday, March 30th**

 

“You okay, Ty? You’ve been acting so distant lately,” you asked Tyler. He was back in his basement, working on producing the recording he had. 

“I’ve just been busy! I promise I’m okay, Y/N.” You didn’t really believe him, but you didn’t want to push him. 

“How is the songs coming along?”

“Really good! The album should be done soon!”

“That’s great!” You smiled at Tyler but he didn’t return it. 

“Okay, seriously Tyler. What is going on with you? Best friends don’t keep secrets from each other,” you stood up from your seat and raised your voice. 

“Why are screaming at me? I’m not lying!”

“Yes, you are! You’re acting different, you have been ever since you first started to hang out with Josh. Please tell me what is going on.”

“Why would you care? You never ask if I’m sad or anything.” Tyler’s voice was angry, and you didn’t understand what he was talking about. 

“You never seem sad, so why would I ask? You never me either?” You got defensive. 

“Because I’m afraid of leading you on since I know you like me.” 

“What? Leading me on?”

“Yes, Y/N. I don’t like you like that. I never have and I never will.”

“Okay.” You stood there with your arms crossed, and your lips pursed. “So what’s wrong and please don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not lying, I said I was fine!” Tyler stood up from his chair and threw his hands up in the air. This time it was him who was yelling. 

“Maybe we aren’t meant to be best friends anymore,” you spoke. Tyler looked up at you with wide eyes. “Maybe we aren’t supposed to be friends at all.”

“What? Y/N, please.”

“If you can’t tell me what's going on, then I’m just going to leave. It only hurts to be friends with you.” You packed your school bag and headed up his basement stairs. You could hear Tyler call your name but you didn’t look back. 

 

**Wednesday, March 31st.**

Tyler’s POV

 

I haven't stopped crying from the moment Y/N left my house. Of course, I would ruin the only friendship I had. Of course, I would screw everything up. Why couldn’t I just had the guts to tell her what I was dealing with. It’s so difficult feeling so alone while you question your sexuality, and I just wished I could have had her help me.

What was I so afraid of anyway? Maybe it was because her dad worked for the church, or maybe it’s because I knew she liked me. 

I didn’t want to go to school, and I didn’t want to see Y/N. I looked at myself in the mirror and my eyes were bloodshot from the lack of sleep. I needed to talk to someone, so I grabbed my phone and dialed the only person that I knew I could talk to. 

“Josh?” I asked when the ringing had stopped. 

“Hey Ty, are you okay?” He must have heard how broken I sounded. 

“Not really, could you come over?”

“We have school.”

“I know, I’m not going, can you come over?”

"Yeah, I’ll be right over.” Josh hung up and I slipped my phone into my back pocket. I washed my face so I didn’t look too bad. I heard a knock at the door and I headed downstairs. 

“Tyler? What’s wrong?” Josh asked, walking inside. I wasn’t crying but of course, when he asked what was wrong I broke down. 

“I ruin everything,” I cried out. I felt Josh’s arms wrap me up and his hand rubbed my back. 

“Let’s go down to the basement,” Josh guided me down the stairs and to the couch. I wiped my eyes as I tried to regain control over my emotions again. “Can you tell me what’s going on?”

“It’s Y/N. I think I ruined our friendship. I’m just so scared to tell her.”

“Tell her what?”

“That I’m gay.” This was the first time I had ever said that line out loud, and it made me start bawling all over again. Josh’s arms hugged me tighter as he tried to shush me. 

“It’s okay, Ty. I’m here. Everything is going to be okay.” His voice calmed me down, and I finally was able to stop crying. 

“I don’t want to lose my best friend.”

“You have to tell her.”

“I know, I will.”

“It will make you feel better, I promise.” Josh held my chin and made me look up at him. 

“Thank you, Josh,” I whispered.

“I told you I would always be here for you, and here I am.”

“Thank you,” I repeated. 

 

**Friday, April 2nd**

 

“I don’t want to talk to you,” you spat at Tyler who was running to catch up to you and your dog. 

“Please, Y/N. I really need to talk to you.”

“Oh so now you want to talk?” You turned around and you took a good look at Tyler. His eyes were red, and he looked like he hadn’t slept for a few days. This was the worst you had ever seen him so you immediately felt bad for snapping at him. “Ty, what’s wrong?”

“Can we go back to my place?” Tyler asked and you nodded. You dropped your dog off at your house before going down to his basement. 

“Can you please tell me now Ty?”

“I’m gay, Y/N.”

“What?” you asked, caught off guard. 

“I’m gay and I’m sorry if you don’t accept me or we can’t be friends anymore.”

“Tyler,” you scooted closer to him and rested your arm around him. “I will always accept you. You didn’t have to hide that from me.”

“I was just so scared,” Tyler began to cry and you just held him, letting him get his emotions out. 

“How long have you known?”

“A while. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“I’m sorry you thought you couldn’t tell me.” You handed Tyler a tissue, and you sat back processing the information he told you. “Do you like Josh?”

“What? Uh, I mean, I don’t know.” 

“I take that as yes.” You chuckled at how flustered he got. 

“I don’t know if he likes me though.”

“You should tell him how you feel. You need to stop keeping stuff inside,” you explained and Tyler nodded. 

“I’ll tell him tomorrow. Thank you for accepting me, Y/N.”

“Of course, Ty. Best friends?”

“Best friends.”

 

**Saturday, April 3rd.**

Tyler’s POV

 

I sort of half jogged from school to my neighborhood, wanting to go over to Josh’s as soon as I could to tell him how I felt. I was so nervous though, how was he going to take it? Does he feel the same way? 

As I crossed the street into my neighborhood I heard sirens in the distance. I couldn’t see lights so I didn’t think too much of it, but they got louder as I walked closer to my house. House fire? Burglary? Murder? So many thoughts went through your head as the sound got closer and closer. 

I turned onto Josh’s street and was welcomed by 3 firetrucks and ambulance. Paramedics were kneeling over someone and the police were talking to a guy that was leaning against his car. I couldn’t see anything, and when I walked closer the police told me to take a step back. 

“I’m just trying to get t my friends house, what happened?”

“A kid got hit by a car while riding his skateboard,” said the police officer. I tried to look over the officer’s shoulder to see if I knew who got hit and that’s when I saw him. 

Josh was sprawled out on the ground, and there was blood. Lot’s of it. I ran past the officer and pushed her arm off of me when she tried to stop me. 

“Josh!” I screamed his name as I knelt next to his body. The paramedics keep on telling me to stand back while they were giving him CPR. I felt a hand grab my chest which pulled me back, but I continued to stare at Josh. 

I watched the paramedic pull out a defibrillator. They ripped Josh’s shirt off. Tears began to form in my eyes and I tried to blink them away. I couldn’t hear what anyone was saying over my screaming. I kept on screaming his name over and over again as if he could hear me. 

“1...2...3...stand back.” The paramedic tried to shock Josh’s body, and I watched his body violently move. Nothing. They repeated this process a couple more times. 

“No, please, no,” I sobbed as I saw the paramedic look at their watch.

“TOD, 15:48.”

“No, no, no, no.” I couldn’t say anything else except no. I broke free of the hands that were holding me down and threw myself on top of Josh’s shirtless body. 

“Please, Josh, please, don’t leave me. You said you would always be here for me.” My tears fell onto his lifeless body, and I screamed and yelled when I heard people screaming my name. 

  
  


**Sunday, April 4th.**

 

You knocked on Tyler’s front door, hoping someone would answer. You had tried to talk to Tyler after you had heard what happened to Josh, but he didn’t answer any of your calls or texts. 

No one answered so you decided to just go inside. His family wasn’t around but you could hear his Ukulele from downstairs so you decided to go down and see him. You recognized the song he was singing, Can't Help Falling In Love. 

“Tyler?” You whispered his name once he finished his song. 

“Y/N?” He looked up you with tears in his eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to check on you, I’m so sorry for what happened.” You knew that sorry doesn’t help but you wanted him to know that you were here for him. 

“I didn’t even get to tell him. I’ll never know he felt.” He looked down and you watched his jeans become dark from his tears. 

“I can’t even imagine how hard this is,” you sat down next to him. He rested his head on your shoulder, and you could feel his shoulders shake from his tears. 

“All I wanted to do was tell him how I truly felt about him.”

“You could write songs, I know he’ll never hear them, but it could help you. Write songs for him,” you suggested. Tyler looked up at you and he nodded. 

“I could try that.”

 

**Wednesday, June 18th.**

Tyler’s POV

 

“This one's for you, Josh,” I whispered to yourself as you walked out onto the small stage. The room wasn’t filled with too many people, it was mostly friends and family. 

“Hi everyone, thank you for coming out, this next song is dedicated to a very special person who helped me realize to not be afraid to be my true self. This song is called Truce.” I ignored the audience as I softly played the piano and let the music take over. I focused on the words I was thinking and hitting the right notes. 

Most importantly I was focusing on Josh. I missed him and he had been in my dreams almost every single night from the accident. I hope wherever he was, he was listening. 

These songs are for you, Joshua Dun. 

  
  
  
  



End file.
